Holy, Batman! There's a flap over Bain vs. Bane

The latest installment of caped-crusader movies is getting enmeshed in the presidential campaign.

Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh today brought up the similarity between Bane, the villain in The Dark Knight Rises, and Bain (as in Capital), the name of the private-equity company that Mitt Romney once headed. The movie starring Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan comes out Friday.

"Do you think that it is accidental that the name of the really vicious, fire-breathing, four-eyed, whatever-it-is-villain in this movie is named Bane?" Limbaugh said.

"This movie, the audience is gonna be huge. A lot of people are gonna see the movie, and it's a lot of brain-dead people, entertainment, the pop-culture crowd, and they're gonna hear Bane in the movie and they're gonna associate Bain," he said.

Limbaugh isn't the first person to bring up the two names. Former Clinton adviser Chris Lehane told The Washington Examiner that the "narratives" in the movie and presidential campaign are "similar."

"It has been observed that movies can reflect the national mood," Lehane is quoted as saying in the Examiner story. "Whether it is spelled Bain and being put out by the Obama campaign or Bane and being (put) out by Hollywood, the narratives are similar: A highly intelligent villain with offshore interests and a past both are seeking to cover up who had a powerful father and is set on pillaging society."

Jon Stewart picked up the theme last night on The Daily Show, using a clip of Bane from the movie.

ABC News reported that Chuck Dixon, who co-created the Bane character for DC Comics, first said on his website that the flap was "ridiculous." Later, Dixon posted on his website's message board:

"Overgrasping Dems? Hey, if it gets Obama supporters into theaters. Maybe they'll buy thousands of Bane toys to throw at Romney. It all adds to MY Bane capital. I wonder if the Romney campaign will contact me?"

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.